You may be double checking your calendar and wondering to yourself: "Hmmm, I thought today was Sunday?"
Well you are correct.

Normally Tedy's Team runs take place on Saturday mornings, but with the cold temperatures set to be -5 with wind chill some of my teammates and I decided to postpone the run to Sunday.

Amazing decision!

My teammate Nanci organized a small group of folks from three different Boston Marathon charity teams to meet at the end of the Minuteman Bikeway in Bedford, MA.

The path has been cleared by a dedicated group of volunteers and the weather was a balmy 25 degrees. ;) It felt like a heat wave for recent Boston standards. :P

Shortly after 10am the 8 of us headed out for a fun 12-miler. I really love running a group. It helps pass the time and it is the pick-me-up you need when you are deep into a run and your mind wants to quit!!

I was happy I brought my phone with me so that I could capture a couple in run photos for the post.

I am getting better at remembering to document my runs. It is a wonderful thing to look back at.

Mile 1: 9:25
Mile 2: 9:28
Mile 3: 9:35
Mile 4: 9:27

Just after hitting Mile 4, we took a much-needed pit stop at the local Starbucks. It is located in Lexington Center and right along the path, which was perfect for all of us to either stretch, grab water or take a trip to the bathroom. It is like they knew we would be missing our Tedy's Team water stop. :)

It was great listening to Cristina talk about going from a 14 min/mile runner to a sub 3:40 marathoner. She started running 7 years ago when she came to America and decided to give up smoking. She used running as an outlet and is one amazing inspiration!

Once the group was set, we headed back out on the path. It was nice meeting a couple new people who I hadn't chatted with before. I love getting lost in conversation because it helps the miles pass.

Mile 5: 8:57
Mile 6: 9:03

We had decided on an out-and-back loop so at Mile 6 we hit the turnaround and headed back to our cars. Why yes we talked about how telling ourselves: "Let's run six miles then back to the car" makes the 12 miles seem shorter. Anyone else? Hello mind games to get a long run done. :P

Mile 7: 8:57
Mile 8: 9:07
Mile 9: 9:04

The Minuteman Bike Path offers such gradual inclines that you don't really recognize it is happening until you are on the decline. :P Thankfully most of us knew that going in as many of us have used the Minuteman path for training runs before. But it was a nice surprise for the newbies. ;) I'm sure their legs appreciated it.

The path had a constant flow of runners and bikers, which is such a great motivator. I love waving and giving the "runner's nod" to folks passing by. And of course I forget I am wearing Superman socks and that is why folks are giving me a second glance as I run by. Yes folks those are capes attached to my socks! Be jealous!

Mile 10: 8:50
Mile 11: 9:02
Mile 12: 9:18

The last three miles were only tough because of my shoulders. Since getting rear-ended due to snow on Thursday, my neck and shoulders have been super sore. I took 3 rest days (Thurs, Fri, Sat) to try to recoup, but the neck/shoulders started to feel heavy by the end of the run. I think it was from holding my arms in the usual 90 degree angles that may have put a little extra pressure on the shoulders. I know I will be okay for next week's Dopey Challenge, but it was something to note.

Additionally, my foot felt pretty strong the whole run until a little nagging soreness came in at the end. I think some of that could be on account of the slipping from the snowy ground. But, it wasn't anything more than I have been dealing with since September. I am still waiting to hear the results on last week's MRI.

As we finished up the final mile, we ended back at the parking lot. The parking lot in Bedford is known as Depot Park and features the Rail Diesel Car 6211 (pictured above), which is a vintage passenger car which formerly ran on the Boston-Bedford rail line.

I really want to thank Meghan and Julia for really great conversation out of the path. It was great to talk about running, weight loss, addicting behaviors and other things. Yeah sometimes convos on runs turn into cheap therapy! :)

But, this week I cannot say "until next week's run" as I leave for Disney on Tuesday. Soooo I will rejoin the Tedy's Team group runs on January 18th...

***

Week 3 Workouts:

Sunday, December 29: 10 mile run

Monday, December 30: 4 mile run and 50 min Spin class

Tuesday, December 31: 2 separate5 mile runs for a total of 10 miles

Wednesday, January 1: 1st Run 5k

Thursday, January 2: REST DAY after getting rear-ended in the snow

Friday, January 3: REST DAY after car accident

Saturday, January 4: REST DAY after car accident

Sunday, January 5: 12 mile group run

***

Looking To Donate

Are you interested in helping to fight Stroke? Please feel free to click on the link HERE to share a donation. Wondering how much? How about $12 in honor of the 12 miles I ran today with Tedy's Team?

Weight Off My Shoulders

My name is Dani and I am blogging out of the Boston Area. I started this blog in May of 2011 after suffering a back injury and subsequent back surgery in December 2011-January 2011. This space was to serve as a way for me to release the inner feelings I was carrying around and maybe help some other people going through similar situations: eating disorders, depression, weight loss and more.

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